Intermittent System of Water Supply : Working, Advantages & Disadvantages of Intermittent System

In the Intermittent system of water supply; water is supplied to the consumer’s tap at certain intervals for a fixed time in a day or alternate days.

If adequate water is not available, the whole community is divided into several zones, and water is supplied in each zone for a fixed time in a day or alternate days.

Consumers are generally recommended to treat the water coming from the intermittent system as water becomes stagnant in service reservoirs. Bleaching powder is also used to maintain the residual chlorine level.

  1. Working of Intermittent System of Water Supply  

The working of the intermittent system is quite simple.

~ At first, the distribution area is divided into several zones.

~ Then water is supplied to only a few zones at a time based on the time schedule. This is done to maintain the proper pressure at the consumer’s tap.

  2. Advantages of Intermittent System of Water Supply  

a. Fewer water leakages and losses as compared to a continuous system.

b. Easy for repair and maintenance works as repairs can be done on out-of-supply hours.

  3. Disadvantages of Intermittent System of Water Supply  

a. Water is provided to the consumers for a limited time.

b. High cost of construction and requirement for more numbers of valves and other distribution accessories.

c. Fire demand cannot be met in time.

d. Bigger diameter pipes are required.

e. Requirement of more manpower as compared to continuous.

Read Also: Methods of Water Distribution